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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Prevent Blindness
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251009T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251009T150000
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SUMMARY:2025 World Sight Day
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_cta h2=”” h4=”Government Shutdown” style=”outline” color=”blue” css=””] \nDue to the federal government shutdown\, Prevent Blindness and the Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington have cancelled the Congressional briefing and screening event scheduled for World Sight Day on Capitol Hill.\n[/vc_cta][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””] \nPrevent Blindness Kicks Off World Sight Day 2025 with a Free Vision Screening and Congressional Briefing on Capitol Hill\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””] \nPrevent Blindness is uniting with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and its member organizations around the world in support of “World Sight Day.” This year’s World Sight Day theme\, “Love Your Eyes\,” will focus on the need for eye care that is accessible\, available\, and affordable for everyone\, everywhere. \nPrevent Blindness is planning a series of events and program partnerships on World Sight Day on Oct. 9\, 2025. With support from the Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington\, Prevent Blindness will host a vision screening and a Congressional Briefing that are free and open to the general public. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””] \nWorld Sight Day 2025 Congressional Briefing\nAs part of World Sight Day 2025\, Prevent Blindness will host a Congressional briefing focused on the critical role of children’s vision and eye health in ensuring readiness for learning\, development\, and lifelong well-being. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1758831753241{margin-top: 25px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_cta h2=”” css=””] \n \nWorld Sight Day Vision Screening and Eye Health Education Event\nOctober 9th\nRayburn Foyer\, 9am – 3pm ET \nWorld Sight Day Congressional Briefing\nOctober 9th\nRayburn 2044\, noon – 1pm ET \nScheduled Speakers:\nRep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL-12)\, Member of Congress – Invited \nRep. Marc Veasey (D-TX-33)\, Member of Congress – Invited \nMegan Collins\, MD\, MPH\, Allen and Claire Jensen Professor of Ophthalmology\, Wilmer Eye Institute\, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; Vice Chair\, National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health Advisory Committee \nEmily Gower\, PhD\, Professor of Epidemiology\, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill \nPatricia Grant\, PhD\, Chief Research Officer\, The Chicago Lighthouse; Adjunct Assistant Professor\, University of Illinois at Chicago \nPiper Largent\, Director of Government Affairs\, National Association of School Nurses \nAllysa Ware\, PhD\, MSW\, Executive Director\, Family Voices \nMegan Webber\, Co-Founder\, Know the Glow \nSara Everett Brown\, MPA\, Senior Director of Government Affairs\, Prevent Blindness \nTo attend either or both World Sight Day events on October 9th\, \nplease RSVP \n[/vc_cta][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=”top”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””] \nSummary\nIs the United States as prepared as it should be to protect this generation’s vision and eye health? \nVision is essential for a child’s development\, impacting cognitive and motor skills\, social and emotional engagement\, and psychological well-being. Yet the U.S. lacks a dedicated national effort to ensure children have access to early intervention and detection services. Without early detection\, vision problems can hinder learning\, limit opportunities\, and increase the risk of serious eye diseases in adulthood\, including macular degeneration\, retinal detachment\, and diabetes-related eye disease. \nEarly detection makes a difference. It connects children with timely diagnoses\, treatment plans\, and—when needed—rehabilitation services and assistive devices. This is especially critical for children with lifelong conditions such as rare eye diseases or inherited disorders. \nThis World Sight Day\, the briefing will examine the strengths and gaps in our current system of children’s vision and eye health care\, from research to public health data to existing programs\, and discuss policy solutions to prevent an avoidable crisis of vision loss and blindness in the U.S. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””] \n \nThe Congressional Briefing will include information and updates on the Early Detection of Vision Impairments for Children (EDVI) Act. The EDVI Act\, co-sponsored by Congressional Vision Caucus (CVC) co-chairs\, U.S. Representative Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) and U.S. Representative Marc Veasey (TX-33)\, is legislation that seeks to establish the first federal program for children’s vision\, providing grants for states and communities to improve children’s vision and eye health through coordinated systems of care. The EDVI Act is currently endorsed by more than 90 organizations across the country. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://preventblindness.org/calendar/2025-world-sight-day/
CATEGORIES:Education
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251009T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251009T200000
DTSTAMP:20260417T003122
CREATED:20250910T130204Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251010T181315Z
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SUMMARY:Thyroid Eye Disease: Can I Talk About My Eyes?
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1760119989516{margin-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Join the Vision Health Advocacy Coalition and Prevent Blindness on World Sight Day\, October 9\, for an informative webinar on the importance of eye health in the thyroid community from an endocrinologist and an individual living with thyroid eye disease. \nAgenda\n\nOpening video: “Did you know?” facts video on eye health & thyroid disease\nPresentation by Dr. Sonalika Khachikian\, an endocrinologist\, with tips for patients and providers\nAn individual living with TED shares their story\nTED “Myth-busters” wrap-up video\nLive questions from the audience are answered\n\nThis virtual event is sponsored by Amgen Rare Disease. \n  \n \nFind out more about Thyroid Eye Disease (TED)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://preventblindness.org/calendar/thyroid-eye-disease-can-i-talk-about-my-eyes/
CATEGORIES:Education
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251028T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251028T200000
DTSTAMP:20260417T003122
CREATED:20251008T144856Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251029T204056Z
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SUMMARY:Webinar - Geographic Atrophy: Knowledge\, Hope\, and Help
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””] \nFor individuals living with geographic atrophy\, their care partners\, and family members\nAre you living with geographic atrophy or have a family member who has been diagnosed with geographic atrophy? If so\, please join Prevent Blindness for this 60-minute community forum on Tuesday\, October 28th from 7:00-8:00pm Eastern to: \n\nLearn about geographic atrophy – what it is\, how it is diagnosed\, and how it is managed\nUnderstand the patient experience of individuals living with geographic atrophy\nLearn about the resources available to those living with geographic atrophy\n\nThis event is supported by funding from Apellis\, Astellas\, and Johnson & Johnson. \nPrevent Blindness retains full independence over all our health education content\, policy positions\, advocacy efforts\, and programmatic decisions. Find out more.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1759935107374{margin-top: 25px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””] \nSpeaker Bios\nKira Baldonado\, MPH\nExecutive Vice President\, Prevent Blindness\nModerator \n \nKira Baldonado is the Executive Vice President of Prevent Blindness\, where she provides strategic leadership across public health\, programming\, and policy functions. With nearly 30 years of nonprofit experience\, she has driven national systems change through collaborative policy development\, multi-sector partnerships\, and the establishment of best practices in vision health. A seasoned grant writer and program leader\, Kira has secured and managed significant federal and corporate funding\, authored over a dozen peer-reviewed publications\, and led national coalitions and quality improvement initiatives. Her leadership has expanded Prevent Blindness’s reach\, strengthened its advocacy impact\, and ensured alignment with strategic and financial goals. A recognized thought leader\, Kira holds an MPH in Health Policy and Management from Kent State University and has served in numerous advisory roles for major organizations in eye health and public health. \n\nJohn Kitchens\, MD\nRetina Specialist\, Retina Associates of Kentucky \n \nDr. Kitchens completed his residency at the University of Iowa Hospital and vitreoretinal fellowship at Bascom Palmer Eye in Miami\, where he was named Chief Resident.  He enjoys speaking nationally and internationally about new treatments for age-related macular degeneration (AMD)\, diabetes and vascular disease.  Dr. Kitchens has developed several innovative surgical techniques and has been awarded the American Society of Retina Specialists Rhett Butler Award on three different occasions.  He’s repeatedly named on America’s Top Ophthalmologists list and Best Doctors in America list.  Dr. Kitchens enjoys both photography and videography in his free time.  He joined Retina Associates of Kentucky in 2005 and lives in Lexington\, Kentucky. \n\nJulie Grutzmacher\, MSW\, MPH\nDirector of Patient Advocacy and Population Health Initiatives\, Prevent Blindness \n \nJulie Grutzmacher grew up in Wisconsin and completed her undergraduate degree in Social Work in Minnesota. After college she joined the Peace Corps. Julie spent two years in Swaziland\, Africa\, where she lived and worked in a rural village providing HIV/AIDS education\, mitigation\, and community development services. It was during that experience that her interest in public health and health disparities was forged. After returning to the U.S.\, Julie completed her Masters in Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago\, and later was employed as a social worker in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Rush Hospital. This experience cemented professional goals relating to the elimination of health disparities and improvement of outcomes for marginalized populations. \nAfter the NICU\, Julie pursued a second Masters Degree\, this time in Public Health\, while simultaneously working in population health management\, providing care coordination and health education for high risk pregnant women in Chicago’s South Side. It was in this role that her passion for accessible and quality primary care was elucidated. She went on to co-create and manage a primary care leadership training program for multidisciplinary medical residents at the University of Chicago. Julie joined the Prevent Blindness team in May of 2020 as the Director of Patient Advocacy and Population Health Initiatives where she oversees the Center for Vision and Population Health (CVPH) and the ASPECT patient-engagement program. She is passionate about reducing all barriers to eye care. \n\nDiane Marshall\nPrevent Blindness Patient Engagement Program Graduate\, Individual Living with Geographic Atrophy \n \nDiane Marshall lives in West Los Angeles. She was diagnosed with dry\, macular degeneration at 54 and now at 78. She has advanced geographic atrophy and is now considered legally blind. Diane was a teacher and high school counselor for 38 years and an avid photographer. Unfortunately\, she can no longer do photography and depends on spoken content to do any kind of reading. Diane still enjoys listening to audiobooks\, having lunch out with friends\, and taking photos on her iPhone. \n\nPete Poulsen\nPrevent Blindness Patient Engagement Program Graduate\, Retired Business Communication Coordinator\, Individual Living with Geographic Atrophy \n \nPete Poulsen is a 78-year-old retired corporate communications coordinator. He was diagnosed with Geographic Atrophy (GA) in 2019 and began receiving Syfovre injections in April 2023 shortly after they were approved in February of that year. His GA was early stage when he started treatment and called “donut hole” by his retina specialist because he still has a small area of good central vision. He is able to function fairly normally with primary symptoms of difficulty seeing in dark or bright environments\, “blind spots” and difficulty in low contrast situations and in recognizing faces. As a result\, he has had to give up his lifetime passion for photography\, driving and bicycle riding. He is the co-founder of a new Low Vision Support Group in his community of 120\,000.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://preventblindness.org/calendar/geographic-atrophy-webinar/
CATEGORIES:Education
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